The decision to keep former South African President Jacob Zuma out of prison, according to officials, was made to ease the overcrowding in jails.
Having been sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court, Zuma turned himself in to the police on Friday.
His medical parole discharge has previously been ruled by the courts to be illegal.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola asserted he had been granted remission in order to address the overcrowding in prisons.
As part of the procedure, which aims to lessen systemic stress, low-risk criminals are freed.
Zuma reported at the Estcourt Correctional Facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal on Friday morning and was “admitted” into the system before being released an hour later, according to South Africa’s Commissioner of Prisons Makgothi Thobakgale.
President Cyril Ramaphosa granted the remission status to more than 9,000 low-risk inmates.
According to him, the “remission process” began in April.
More than 350 people died in rioting and protests when Zuma was imprisoned in 2021.
After declining to appear before a tribunal looking into financial fraud and favouritism committed under his president, he was punished.
However, after serving only two months of his sentence, he was released on medical parole.
Last November, an appeals court ruled that Zuma’s release had been improperly granted and sent him back to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence. A request to reverse this judgement was denied by the constitutional court last month.